It's been a long time since my last post here. There have been several highs and several lows.
Highs: my daughter got married, my younger son got married, a couple of my nephews got married, more grandchildren came into our lives, and LSU won a national championship in football with Joe Burrow winning the Heisman. I also won three kayak bass fishing tournaments including my 2nd consecutive"Bass on the Fly" world championship, as well as placed in five other kayak bass tournaments.
Lows: I came down with Covid-induced pneumonia in August 2021 and spent 6 weeks in the hospital. My sister and I also lost our mother (not Covid related) who was as close to being a saint as anyone I've ever known. She was a pillar of the Cecilia community and St. Joseph Catholic Church. Our family truly appreciated the outpouring of love from so many folks who knew her.
Since it's May, it's time for a garden update. This year here in the west Cenla area we had a late freeze so the plants didn't get into the ground until late March. But the plots have really become productive the last couple of years and growth has been nothing short of amazing. The secret? It's actually a few things:
- I've gone from adding "topsoil" to strictly adding cow manure - 2 bags per plot.
- Adding ag lime a month before planting. The lime unlocks the nutrients locked in the low pH soil.
- Stocking earthworms into the garden. I learned at TOFGA that they can really transform a garden!
- Eliminating plastic barrier. While it was breathable, it seemed to repel some water as my plants would wilt a bit after only a few days without water. Since eliminating the barrier, I don't have to water quite as often.
In the photo, the plants up front on the first plot are Celebrity tomatos, the back plants on the first plot are Cherry 100 tomatos. The other side of the plots have bell peppers. The plants on the back end of the 2nd plot are Sweet Slice cucumbers and eggplant. The Celebrity tomatos would be taller - so would the bell peppers - but I learned a trick that trimming the top causes earlier maturation of fruit. On the bell peppers, it also causes multiple limbs to sprout which pays big production numbers in the Fall.
As for the citrus and blueberries, the late freeze hurt both. The only variety with any berries are the Premieres. One of the Washington navels has a few oranges. Everything else - barren! The freeze also knocked out any fruit for the dozens of wild elderberries we have on our property. Oh well, maybe next year!
